Boyfriend on Demand is a great weekend binge
Boyfriend on Demand was a good rom-com. Easy to watch, fun, cute, and perfect for a weekend. Releasing it on a Friday was a great idea. The storyline was nothing new or innovative, but it works well for what it is.
Is it the best rom-com or series of the year? No, definitely not. But it’s not horrible either. It’s light and enjoyable. It’s also worth watching just for the cameos alone (although, if we’re being honest, with the exception of Seo Kang Jun, they didn’t really live up to the hype). We knew about some of them beforehand, but they left a few surprises here and there, and it was exciting to see them pop up throughout the show.
Now to the controversial part: the acting. I’m not familiar with Ji Soo, neither as an idol nor as an actress. This is the first drama of hers that I’ve watched, but I do know that she’s an idol, and a very popular one at that.
Is she the horrible actress that everyone makes her out to be? No, but she isn’t great either. She falls somewhere in the middle.
What I noticed is that she isn’t very consistent. There were times when she was quite good, usually in exaggerated scenes, mostly comedic, though there were a few emotional ones that she handled well too. However, she fell flat in more subtle, “everyday” expressions and actions (walking, running, standing in a scene and being idle). There were moments where I could almost see her thinking and planning her next move. That said, I did feel that her acting improved in the second half of the drama.
She also needs to learn how to colour and use her voice. In some scenes she sounded dull and monotonous. She has a beautifully natural, raspy voice that she could use to her advantage, which could help set her apart. Given that she gets lead roles right out of the gate due to her popularity as an idol, rather than her acting skills, it means she has to work twice as hard to prove herself. It’s also expected that people will pick apart her every expression, since they feel she didn’t earn those roles or work hard enough for them but simply got them because she is Blackpink’s Ji Soo.. She has the potential to become really good and establish herself as an actress but she really needs to put in the work!
Having said that, she wasn’t the only weak link when it came to acting. In general, I feel that a lot of the acting in this drama was lacking, from both the leads and the supporting cast, as well as some of the cameos. Even Seo In Guk, who has proven himself over and over again, felt a bit flat to me here. I don’t know if it was the “indifferent” nature of his character, but at times he also felt like he was phoning it in. That said, I have to give him credit: he made the two characters feel really different from each other, and at times it almost felt like the female lead was acting opposite two different actors.
Their chemistry was quite good, but it could have been better if the drama had taken the time to build their relationship in the first half. The male lead was practically nonexistent in the first four episodes.
All in all, it’s definitely worth a watch, and it’s great for a weekend binge.
Is it the best rom-com or series of the year? No, definitely not. But it’s not horrible either. It’s light and enjoyable. It’s also worth watching just for the cameos alone (although, if we’re being honest, with the exception of Seo Kang Jun, they didn’t really live up to the hype). We knew about some of them beforehand, but they left a few surprises here and there, and it was exciting to see them pop up throughout the show.
Now to the controversial part: the acting. I’m not familiar with Ji Soo, neither as an idol nor as an actress. This is the first drama of hers that I’ve watched, but I do know that she’s an idol, and a very popular one at that.
Is she the horrible actress that everyone makes her out to be? No, but she isn’t great either. She falls somewhere in the middle.
What I noticed is that she isn’t very consistent. There were times when she was quite good, usually in exaggerated scenes, mostly comedic, though there were a few emotional ones that she handled well too. However, she fell flat in more subtle, “everyday” expressions and actions (walking, running, standing in a scene and being idle). There were moments where I could almost see her thinking and planning her next move. That said, I did feel that her acting improved in the second half of the drama.
She also needs to learn how to colour and use her voice. In some scenes she sounded dull and monotonous. She has a beautifully natural, raspy voice that she could use to her advantage, which could help set her apart. Given that she gets lead roles right out of the gate due to her popularity as an idol, rather than her acting skills, it means she has to work twice as hard to prove herself. It’s also expected that people will pick apart her every expression, since they feel she didn’t earn those roles or work hard enough for them but simply got them because she is Blackpink’s Ji Soo.. She has the potential to become really good and establish herself as an actress but she really needs to put in the work!
Having said that, she wasn’t the only weak link when it came to acting. In general, I feel that a lot of the acting in this drama was lacking, from both the leads and the supporting cast, as well as some of the cameos. Even Seo In Guk, who has proven himself over and over again, felt a bit flat to me here. I don’t know if it was the “indifferent” nature of his character, but at times he also felt like he was phoning it in. That said, I have to give him credit: he made the two characters feel really different from each other, and at times it almost felt like the female lead was acting opposite two different actors.
Their chemistry was quite good, but it could have been better if the drama had taken the time to build their relationship in the first half. The male lead was practically nonexistent in the first four episodes.
All in all, it’s definitely worth a watch, and it’s great for a weekend binge.
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